Pittsburgh Steelers Week 14 Post-Game Wrap: Saving the Season

As the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens headed into week 14 for a clash to decide first place in the AFC North, the winner would have sole possession of the top spot while the loser may essentially miss the playoffs with a loss. In the end, the Steelers prevailed 27-22 and with the victory carved a road to winning the division title.

The Steelers may have received a gift of sorts because leading by five with the game clock winding down, Lamar Jackson marched his offense into a scoring opportunity and then hit Isaiah Likely with what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown. Likely made the mistake of holding ball in his hands with arms extended after taking two steps in the end zone, Joey Porter Jr. was able to poke the ball out of his hands. Instead of what probably would have been a game winning touchdown, after replay it was ruled incomplete.

Had Likely’s score stayed on the board, it may have been the nail in the coffin for the Steelers’ season. But with that play something else happened afterwards that we did not see much of this season. All season long the Steelers secondary gave up big plays at the most opportune time. The rush defense also could not put together an entire 60 minutes of play in the six losses this season. In Baltimore, the Pittsburgh defense bent but refused to break. That was the difference in the game.

I had predicted the Steelers would lose this game and said that the only way they could win was to play a perfect game. While they were far from perfect, they were damn close. While there were some inexcusable penalties on the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers threw no interceptions and was not sacked once. No Steeler fumbled the ball and on defense there was strong pressure on Lamar Jackson and Alex Highsmith sacked the Ravens quarterback to end the game.

Brandin Echols added an additional sack for Pittsburgh and in his first year with the team, Echols had perhaps his best game. Along with the sack, Echols had a pair of solo tackles, one of which was for a loss, defended a pass and one quarterback hit. As for Aaron Rodgers, I had said in my Steelers preview that I could not remember the last time the Steelers had a long pass downfield. Rodgers took care of that very quickly with a long 52-yard bomb to DK Metcalf on Pittsburgh’s very first series.

Instead of focusing on the running game, Arthur Smith had the offense taking to the air. Rogers had his best game all season and with 284 yards passing came close to hitting that 300 mark. Rogers also became only the third player in history to rush for a touchdown while being 42 years old or older. The aging quarterback completed 23 passes on 34 attempts and finished with a rating of 103.1. Rogers also threw a touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren who came out of the backfield and rumbled 38 yards to paydirt.

The one fact about Steelers/Ravens games is that most often they are close. They are nail biters and this game was not decided until the game’s final play. In a must win for Pittsburgh they won. So much scrutiny had built up about Mike Tomlin leading into this game so once the final gun sounded there was Tomlin blowing a kiss into the camera as to say “F-You” to all the naysayers. While I can’t blame him, it was not professional to do that and very un-Tomlin-like.

Here's what I say to Tomlin with his kiss off. Coach…that is only one big win. If you want to get back on Steelers Nation’s good side, you must get this team to the post season and then win that elusive playoff game. How I see it now is if the Steelers can keep this consistency of how they played in Baltimore, they should win at home on Monday Night Football next week. After that it’s a trip to Detroit and it’s not out of the realm of possibility they could win that game. Then it is just Cleveland and a rematch with Baltimore at home.

Pittsburgh SHOULD win three of the next four. With Baltimore traveling to Cincinnati in week 15, the Bengals who gave Buffalo a scare in the most recent game played are telling that Joe Burrow and company will defeat Baltimore. If that happens then it gives the Steelers, the opportunity to extend their AFC North division lead over the Ravens to two games. It could also make the season finale meaningless.

As for the Bengals, a win over the Bills may have given them a better chance at a wild card. They are not out of it yet, but they will need to beat Baltimore at home. As for the Steelers winning in Baltimore, there is still speculation about Tomlin and his future but his tenure with the Steelers will depend on how this season rides out.

One of the complaints I had about Tomlin is how he seemed to be a “zombie” on the sidelines not showing any emotions and such. But in Baltimore Coach T. seemed more animated, excited, and much more into the game. Perhaps this victory was a wake up call for not just the head coach but the entire team. They accomplished this win without a strong running game and showed the world they can in fact go downfield long but also that DK Metcalf is not the only weapon in the passing game.

Rogers threw to eight different players with Metcalf leading the charge, catching seven passes for 148 yards. Kenneth Gainwell caught six more. Jaylen Warren another three. I say watch out for Adam Thielen, the crafty veteran who is now wearing Black and Gold and once he gets comfortable could be a dangerous weapon down the stretch. As for Gainwell, I criticized him early in the season but boy has he come on. This season Gainwell has 371 yards rushing and 286 yards receiving.

Jaylen Warren has 652 yards rushing this season and he too can catch the ball hauling in 30 passes so for 277 yards. Many Steelers like me do not care about the stats however and just want wins and a championship. The Steelers defense in Baltimore played hard. Even for 60 minutes they continued to fly to the ball and tackled extremely well. The former Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson had his moments and was responsible for two scores, but Pittsburgh held him in check limiting him to just 219 yards passing and getting one interception off his hands.

James Pierre had that one pick and I have been hard on the Steelers secondary in the past. I’m still cautious about the corners and safeties but this was a huge improvement. I thought Derrick Henry would run buck wild on the Steelers defense given how they played against the Bills a week earlier. This is a sign of a good team however when a squad can bounce back from an inferior performance and look incredibly different. Henry finished with 94 yards rushing but was never a real threat. His longest run was for 19 yards. Keaton Mitchell ripped one run off for 55 yards and finished with 76. Take away that long run and he only had 21 yards on five carries.

I’m sure John Harbaugh would be whining about the Likely drop in the end zone and NFL referee expert Gene Steratore explained that Likely did not make a football move after getting two feet down and so with Porter’s disruption and knocking the ball loose the zebras made the right call calling it incomplete. Harbaugh didn’t like the near interception by Aaron Rodgers either that the Steelers quarterback nearly made a fatal mistake on.

In trying a pass, Rodgers’ pass was blocked and the ball came bounding right back at him. Instead of letting it drop, that would have made it an incomplete attempt, Rodgers caught the ball and in getting hit by defenders fell the turf and fumbled the ball which Baltimore recovered. However, on replay Rodgers had control of the ball when he hit the ground and the lost the ball so again the correct call was made, and it stayed Steelers ball.

One last note on this Steelers win. Pittsburgh started fast and opened the passing game. After halftime and heading into the third quarter, Mike Tomlin was asked what he needed to do in the second half and he responded with a simple comment … “keep our foot on the gas pedal.” Did the Steelers do that? No. In fact they became more conservative on offense. Defensively those guys kept motoring. But the play calling in the third and fourth quarters was suspect making us Steelers fans holding our breath with Tomlin’s coaching moving forward.

So here we are heading into a Monday night matchup and the weather forecast is calling for very chilly weather with the Miami Dolphins coming to town leaving their fine sunny weather behind. To reiterate about Mike Tomlin, it is my belief that these remaining four games and if we get to the playoffs and register a victory, that result will determine the decision team President Art Rooney II makes about his coach’s future in Pittsburgh.